Scott Air Force Base Begins Furloughs

Scott Air Force Base employees will take unpaid leave beginning Monday as a result of sequestration cuts.

The furloughs began Monday for approximately 4,500 employees. The leave will be implemented one day a week for 11 weeks; most employees will take off Mondays or Fridays.

Furloughs began for Scott Air Force Base employees on July 8, 2013. Those affected will take unpaid leave one day a week for 11 weeks until the end of the fiscal year in September 2013.

Credit (via Wikimedia commons/SSGT CHAD R. GANN, USAF)

The furloughs will last until the end of the fiscal year in September, but spokesman Lieutenant Korey Fratini says there is no word if furloughs will continue into the next fiscal year.

The focus right now, he said, is supporting employees and their families affected by the cuts.

“Right now, we’re just working as best we can to mitigate any issues that the civilian employees have by working with them, by providing any assistance in terms of education through budgeting or any other financial education that we can," Fratini said.

Earlier this year, the furloughs were reported to be 14 days; U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, however, then announced the unpaid leave would only be 11 days for civilian employees.

Fratini said workloads might still be heavier during the days when the affected employees are working due to the cuts.

“So there’s obviously some frustration throughout the civilian workforce with the cuts; however, we’ve been working with them to alleviate any frustrations and try to work as best we can, because the civilians do play a big role in helping the mission succeed every day,” Fratini said.

The base’s Airman and Family Readiness Center is offering budget counseling for affected employees and their families.

The Belleville News Democrat reports workers will be informed that they must take one day per week of unpaid vacation between next month and September because of mandatory federal budget cuts referred to as the "sequester."

The newspaper says the workers will receive the 30-day notices in the mail by the end of the week.

Earlier this week the Obama Admiration released a state-by-state breakdown of the $85 billion in cuts slated to kick in on Friday.

The report details cuts to expenditures ranging from teachers and schools, to air-traffic control, to public health and head start. Among the line-items slated for the largest cuts is military readiness and defense, or more specifically by civilians working for the Department of Defense.

About 5,100 civilian workers at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois are being forced to take-off 11 unpaid days, as are civilian employees at military installations throughout the Department of Defense. The furloughs begin July 8 and are a result of the automatic federal spending cuts known as sequestration.